An Elon Musk vs Sam Altman legal battle has ensued---with Microsoft caught in the middle.
On Thursday, Feb. 29, Musk filed a lawsuit in a San Francisco court against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, among others-accusing them of deviating from the company's original mission to develop artificial intelligence (AI) for the broader benefit of humanity.
Musk's lawyers alleged that in 2015, Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman approached the Tesla CEO to establish a non-profit laboratory aimed at advancing artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the betterment of humanity.
For context, Elon Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI in 2015. But later resigned from the company's board in 2018, having previously expressed concerns about the potential dangers associated with AI, once famously stating that AI is "potentially more dangerous than nukes."
Elon Musk vs Sam Altman's OpenAI
Now, the Elon Musk vs Sam Altman lawsuit also claims that despite OpenAI's continued assertion on its website that its primary goal is to ensure AGI benefits humanity, the organization has effectively become a closed-source arm of Microsoft, deviating from its original mission.
Musk's lawyers assert that OpenAI's shift towards maximizing profits for Microsoft violates the initial agreement, alleging that the organization is now focused on refining AGI solely for the benefit of the tech giant rather than humanity at large.
"Under its new Board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximize profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity," the lawsuit statement reads.
Moreover, the Tesla CEO's representatives state that the lawsuit aims not to cut ties with OpenAI. Rather, it's to compel the company to return to its founding principles and refocus its efforts on developing AGI for the broader benefit of humanity.
Neither OpenAI nor Microsoft immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the lawsuit.
Currently, the Elon Musk vs Sam Altman lawsuit is not the only legal battle OpenAI is facing. Per VCPost, the company will also undergo Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation for allegedly misleading investors.
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